[QUOTE=Lamented]falls bridge. Cycle Jon pulled up as i was putting my camera away! Good to meet you Jon.

Ernie what lens are you using?]

I was using a Nikon D90 with the 18-105mm lens. I used PhotoShop CS3 to make the panorama. And various other post processing for the "glamor shot" look. Mainly, just a tripod, a remote and a slow shutter speed.

Falls Bridge, 1894-1895
Schuylkill River at East Falls, Philadelphia PA

The final natural fall line of the Schuylkill River as it flows to the Delaware River occurs at the Falls of the Schuylkill, or East Falls as it is now known. In 1821 the fall line was appropriated by the City of Philadelphia by the construction of a dam down river at Fairmount which created a slackwater pond as far as Flat Rock Dam in Manayunk. 1 The City purchased the water power rights from Josiah White and Joseph Gillingham in 1819 for $150,000. Today when water in the river is low, the rocks of the falls can still be seen under the twin bridges carrying the Roosevelt Expressway (U.S. Route 1) across the river.

There has been a variety of bridges constructed to span the Schuylkill at the Falls and they were destroyed by overloading, by the raging icy flood waters of the Schuylkill, or by fire. Reports indicate that the 1808-1809 Finley chain suspension bridge was damaged in 1810 when a drove of cattle crossing it caused some of the suspenders to break and part of the floor then fell into the river. The bridge was repaired, but broke again in 1816 after a very heavy snowfall. Faced with no bridge at the Falls to serve his factories there, Josiah White erected a wire suspension bridge in 1816 which was designed to allow workers to cross the river from their homes on the west bank to the factory on the east bank. The bridge was 408 feet long and was supported by six wires, all the iron work was supplied by White's wire and rolling mill at the Falls. 2 Although only for pedestrian use, this "spider bridge" is credited with being the earliest wire suspension bridge in the country. 3 A series of three wooden bridges followed, built in 1817, 1829, and 1849. The first one was a covered bridge that met a spectacular end when it was lifted off its piers and abutments and carried down river to Fairmount during the icy winter of 1822.

The Falls Bridge that is still in use today was erected in 1894-95 by Filbert Porter & Co. It is a Pratt through truss bridge, pin-connected and with a secondary system of bracing. 4 To anyone crossing the bridge, it is evident that the overhead segments are exceptionally heavy. This is because the original design was for a double deck bridge, but the upper deck was not built. The original plan is an early example of transportation engineering with respect to the approaches to the bridge levels. 5 The bridge is 600 feet long, 40 feet wide, and connects Kelly Drive at Calumet Street with the West River Drive at Neill Drive on the opposite side of the Schuylkill. The abutments and two piers are of stone masonry. At the time of construction, James H. Windrim was the Director of Public Works and George S. Webster was Chief Engineer. The cost of the bridge was $262,000, in contrast with $102,000 for the City Avenue Bridge which was 712 feet long and had been built with private funds but was later purchased by the city.

I feel like riding to Philly tomorrow. Somebody give me something to do while I am there......

Have a couple of cheesesteaks? Visit the "Abbaye"? They have a really nice beer selection!

__________________"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington

__________________"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." -- George Washington

Sorry for not keeping up with the thread guys. It has been a long outage, and I have been feeling a bit burnt out on everything. Hell, I have only been on the bike three of four times in the past month!

I am glad to see that the game has been moving along pretty well. Dennis, I do agree with the idea behind the 50 mile rule, but I really don't want to force that on the players, especially with winter moving in.

New tag. This is not 50 miles from the other tag, Didn't catch that conversation so ignorance is bliss. Thought I'd leave it in the city seeing that there were a few guys who said they wanted to ride there this weekend....... have a great weekend all!